American snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg won the first gold medal of the Sochi Games Saturday, beating out Canadian favorites Maxine Parrot and Mark Morris in the Olympics' premiere slopestyle competition.

Parrot landed in fifth, while McMorris, who competed with a broken rib, won bronze. Norway's Staale Sandbech, the top scorer of the competition in qualifiers, took silver.

Kostenburg was the only American to advance to the final round of the competition after teammates Charles Guldemond and Ryan Strassel were bumped out in semi-finals earlier in the day.

The 20-year-old Idaho native had to fight for his place in the medal round. He was not among the top eight snowboarders to automatically advance to finals from Thursday's qualifying competition. But he steadily improved in the second round, living up to his nickname, "second-run Sage."

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Still, Kostenburg appeared surprised at the positive turn of events. "Whoa how random is this I made finals at the Olympics!!!" he tweeted.

He was the first man up at the finals and immediately became the one to beat. The laid-back snowboarder tamed the treacherous course that chased away teammate Shaun White earlier in the week and sent several other contenders to the medical tent.

While the course that features a large nesting doll, tricky rails and three jumps took out its fair share of riders, Kotsenburg kept his cool.

His blonde hair flapping from under his helmet as he soared through the sun-splashed Caucasus Mountains, Kotsenburg looked as if he were cruising down the hill with his buddies even as he soared off ramps that are the equivalent of leaping out of three three-story buildings in the span of 15 seconds.

In a sport built on signature moments as much as it is built on triumphs, Kotsenburg provided both when he leapt off the second ramp, unveiling a new trick that impressed the judges and drew oohs from the packed stands.

Kotsenburg needed to navigate the semifinals early Saturday, putting together a ride that gave him the confidence boost he needed. He placed second in the semifinals then rolled with a medal on the line.

Still, there was drama as he waited out the rest of the 12-man field. He stood off to the side after his second run, a not-quite-as-sharp 83.25, and clapped behind a nervous smile as the rest of the field aimed for his score.

McMorris, slowed by his broken rib, couldn't quite get there. A gold medal favorite before his injury at X Games last month, McMorris needed to scramble to get through the semifinals and his trip down the hill in the finals was solid but lacked the fireworks necessary to unseat Kotsenburg.

Rather than wear any "armor" to protect his rib cage, McMorris relied on a team of specialists that tried to make him as comfortable as possible. Considering the circumstances, it could have been worse.

"They got me from a broken rib to on my snowboard in the span of nine days," McMorris said. "They kept pushing me and pushing me. It's been the most draining week in my life."

Sandbech, who went next to last, was nearly flawless. He was so pumped after his second run he belly-flopped onto the ground. His 91.75 wasn't quite good enough, leaving only Canadian Max Parrot in Kotsenburg's path to the gold.

Parrot dominated qualifying, posting the best score of the week. He put together a near perfect first run only to sit on the landing of his final jump then wobbled twice on his second run and scraped the ground with his hand after landing his final trick. He dropped his head when his 87.25 popped up on the scoreboard while Kotsenburg raised his arms in triumph to get the U.S. off to a golden start in what should be a competitive race at the medal table.